Head gasket repair

[peter2704]

Ok ,my K series vvc is sweating a little in the header tank,temps ok and no water in the oil yet.May get it changed as a precaution.Who do we trust to fit a new head gasket and is reasonable cost wise,and knows what they are doing? also which is the best gasket to use ?

[sjw]

Largely depends upon where you are in Gods own county

[peter2704]

can travel,car running fine and temps all ok.More preventative

[Ishy]

Quartz S2.... my first Lotus was a quartz S2 lovely car always regretted selling it

[peter2704]

how did you know it was quartz ???
pic by the way

[Moggy]

how did you know it was quartz ???

Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 17.29.24.png (14.91 KiB) Viewed 8662 times

Kinda gives it away really

[peter2704]

well spotted ,didnt even know i had put that……..

[Dennis]

Any half decent garage should be able to do the head gasket in the dark (they will have done loads over the years.

There are some 'minor' issues in locking the crank off but just stick it in gear and stick something through/into the brake disc veins and against the calipers and you are sorted.

Issue is setting the vvc back up in the head can be a bit of a pain

[peter2704]

Could you not just lock the cam pulleys with the cam tool,remove head and clean and fit new gasket then just time as normal.The car hasnt boiled or got hot ,just want to catch it in the early stages before big damage

[Dennis]

You really need to lock the crank and due to the chassis you can't get to it wry well hence the alternative method

[The Scotts]

Decent flat blade screwdriver into flywheel is best way to undo crank
Bolt, not a bad job to do, MLS gasket is the way to go

[Dennis]

How do get to the flywheel with everything else in place?

[peter2704]

Isnt the MLS dependant on you liner heights ?I rang mobile mg mechanics in derby,they seem to get good reviews on the mgf forums and not silly prices.He says hes done around 15 elises and his other mechanic around 20 ,I mentioned the MLS and they said it depends on liner height, so they seem to know there stuff

[The Scotts]

How do get to the flywheel with everything else in place?

There is a section of the bell housing that you can get a screwdriver in to hold the flywheel still or you can get a tool that goes where starter is to hold it but not needed

[Dennis]

I wondered if there was a cut out or removed the starter